The agricultural festival held along Shirakawa straddling the bridge to Kumamoto Station is prepared for its 2/1 start, says Kumanichi. The festival was moved to Toshima during reconstruction of the riverbank, a location everyone hated, so it’s nice to have it back. I recommend a warm bowl of horumon (horse tripe stew) on one of the riverside prefabs where you can watch the seagulls, inland at this season, flight back and forth. Don’t forget a generous portion of shichimi (七味, a powdered spicy condiment) - not for the seagulls but for your horse.
An 80-year old horticulturist was gifted the lovely name of 米山學 - literally, “Rice Mountain Scholar.” He’s lucky to be 80 as finding the kanji 學 on a PC is really hard, but he probably doesn’t need to. He was quoted: “When the venue was returned to the riverside last year, participation soared, so I have high hopes for this year.” Take the trolley to the station and it’s a short walk. - William
